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Saturday, November 02, 2013

Parsnip Chips (AIP, FODMAPS) / Coconut Milk SOS / Terrifying

There are times when a deep search of the inner self reveals a longing for something salty and crunchy.

We could discuss the origins of such cravings, analyse a few childhood memories: birthday parties, trips to the dairy with mum, bag-of-chips-keeps-the-kids-quiet-for-ages bribery. I'm sure it's all there waiting to be dredged up and expunged with some inner child therapy.

Or we could just integrate and get busy in the kitchen. Grown-up chips do not come in packets or from potatoes. They come from nutritious root veges lovingly crisped in the home oven - the one with no temperature markings left and a door handle that keeps detaching (individual ovens may differ).

Again, this is hardly a "recipe".

Ingredients:

1. Veges.
2. Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

The amount and type of veges are up to you. In the pic, I have used two large parsnips. Most veg will shrink a lot during cooking. Other veges that work well are sweet potatoes, swedes, carrots, beet and you can even use courgette, or any other vege that looked at you sideways.

Kale Chips, also, are a firm favourite around here, with or without the parmesan.

Method:

Finely slice the vegetable. I would absolutely recommend using a slicer attachment for the food processor. The way the slices are uniform and will cook evenly.

It's ok to do it by hand if you are steady, but it does take a while. You need to aim for approximately the thinness of a fat potato chip.

Drizzle oil over the vege slices then, using your impeccably, food hygiene safe hands, massage the oil into the veges.

Spread the veges evenly over a baking tray. A tray with holes (the sort the allows heat to also flow under the chips, makes the cooking process easier, but it's not 100% necessary.

Cook in a slow oven (say 150-170C) until they are at the desired level of crunchiness (about 20 minutes). Keep an eye on then and give them a stir every now and then - this is especially important on a metal tray, so that they don't burn on the underside.

Remove the chips as they become ready. The smaller ones will cook much faster. If the goal is to end up with a bowl of chippies, you'll have to discipline yourself not to immediately eat the ones that are done.

Once they are all done, season and eat.

If you are on the SCD, it's up for debate whether parsnips are ok or not. Some people do well with them, and some suffer.

Coconut Milk

I have taken your advice, consulted my AIP cookbook, and made some coconut milk.

It looks pretty and tastes great, however, I have an issue.

1. No matter what I do, I can't get it to make yogurt or kefir. It does get slightly tangy, but doesn't thicken at all, even when I persistently shake the jar to recombine the cream and water.

Any ideas on that?

2. So.. at the end of the process, I have heaps of dessicated coconut left. As it takes a lot of coconut to make the milk, I can see a coconut pileup situation developing. Yes, I could compost it (wasteful!), or go mad with baking (TBH, I'm a bit coconutted-out right now), but there's an awful lot of it. What do you do? Freeze it?

I also discovered that the 'Natural Value' brand of organic coconut milk has no additives, and no BPA in the can lining. Does anyone know if this can be found in NZ?

Something terrifying: Miss J in halloween costume, with true witchy attitude. I should mention she is in theatre school and knows how to commit to the character. The cat toy narrowly escaped being painted black.

BTW, it's not the scary face that's terrifying. Do you see how tall she is? (my baby!).

Nope, I could never get my home made coconut milk to yog either. No idea why. :( As for the leftover coconut, I'm told you can dry it in a slow oven and process it into flour...and I don't see why it wouldn't freeze.

Aroy D makes pure coconut milk in little boxes (like juice boxes). It's the best tasting coconut milk outside of harvesting young coconuts myself. I order them from Amazon. No BPA or additives. I order the 8.5 oz boxes - single serving. Also, you can desiccate the coconut pulp from making coconut milk and then grind it to make coconut flour (haven't done this myself - I don't eat coconut flour - and now no need).

About Me

About Me

Welcome to Fit to Blog. My name is Sara
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I live in NZ and I am into health, happiness, travel, philosophy, business and blogging. In real life, I wear many hats: I'm a consultant to the food and supplement industries, business owner, MSc student (Human Nutrition) at Massey uni, dedicated Aunty, catlady and queen of my kitchen. This blog is a way for me to share my passion for healthy living in a world that is sometimes a little crazy. I love connecting with kindred souls, so please feel free to lurk on Fit to Blog or even drop me a comment or an email. Enjoy!